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Podcast 161: My Mother Was a Mail Order Bride

This article was written by in Podcast. 2 comments.


Today on the Consumerism Commentary Podcast, Tom Dziubek speaks with Aloysa, founder of the personal finance website My Broken Coin about how her mother came to America by becoming a mail order bride. She talks about the decision to find an overseas husband, what the search process was like, the risks involved and how the decision turned out. Aloysa also talks about how she came to America and how the transition from the former Soviet Union affected her spending habits.

Consumerism Commentary Podcast
My Mother Was a Mail Order Bride: S07E05 / 187

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Table of contents

Consumerism Commentary Podcast[00:00] Introduction from Tom Dziubek
[00:38] Interview with Aloysa
– [00:51] Life in Lithuania
– [02:17] Becoming a mail order bride
– [04:02] Risky business
– [05:06] The costs involved
– [06:59] The types of people who solicit mail order brides
– [09:33] The dating process
– [10:33] What could happen if a marriage doesn’t work
– [11:32] Achieving American citizenship
– [13:02] Aloysa’s mom finds her husband
– [15:58] The husband’s first visit to Lithuania
– [18:50] Their current marital status
– [19:10] Aloysa comes to America
– [20:07] Personal finances: going from communism to capitalism
[25:04] End

We always welcome feedback from listeners. If you have any comments for this episode or for any other, or if you have suggestions for future episodes, please leave us comments here or email us at podcast at this domain name.

Theme music by Mindcube.

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Get to Work If You Want to Be Rich

This article was written by in Wealth and Affluence. 12 comments.

How much time do you spend in front of the television, socializing with friends, or watching movies? I freely admit that I spend too much time watching television. There are certain television programs that entertain me, and particularly during stressful times in my life, I need some type of outlet that makes me laugh, raising my spirits. As a single man living alone, I don’t have the opportunity right now to unwind at the end of the day by spending time with family.

This is, of course, an excuse or a rationalization of why I don’t just spend more time working. A new study, wherein the researchers’ intent was to reevaluate whether the consumption gap between the wealthy and the poor grew alongside the income gap between 1980 and 2010, also has indicated a correlation between education level and leisure time. The authors of the study then make the connection from education level to wealth, when asked by the Wall Street Journal.

Low-educated men saw their leisure hours grow to 39.1 hours in 2003-2007, from 36.6 hours in 1985. Highly-educated men saw their leisure hours shrink to 33.2 hours from 34.4 hours… Low-educated women saw their leisure time grow to 35.2 hours a week from 35 hours. High-educated women saw their leisure time decrease to 30.3 hours from 32.2 hours. Educated women, in other words, had the largest decline in leisure time of the four groups.

Movie marqueeThe higher a person’s level of education, the less time they spend on leisure activities like watching television, going out to see movies in a theater, socializing with friends, talking on the phone, and playing games. The study authors content that as unemployment has grown at a higher rate for lower-education individuals, that factor has contributed to about half of the change in leisure time for that segment of the sample.

How do we get from a measurement of education to a measurement of wealth? The study authors contend that education is a proxy for wealth, as level of education tends to correspond with income. There are probably some pieces missing in this leap from education to wealth in general, but if nothing else, a higher education opens more opportunities for traditional methods of earning income. (There are always counter-examples, with Ivy League dropouts forming companies that go onto being worth many billions of dollars, but that is exceedingly rare.)

No one is pointing to a causality — that working more and spending less time on leisure activities alone — will result in an increase of income. But if there is a correlation, it makes sense. There is, however, a perception that those at the top of the corporate ladder, earning more money, do not “work harder” than rank-and-file employees. On the job, employees during the grunt work may work just as hard or harder as an executive whose primary function seems to be attending meetings and farming out work to his or her underlings while consolidating reports and presenting reports to the Board of Directors, for example. This study doesn’t look at how hard one works at the workplace, but at how much leisure time is used outside of the office.

There is a message: get to work. Those with higher incomes spend less time on activities outside the office that aren’t productive. Family time is excluded, of course. Highly-educated individuals (who we’re assuming are also earning higher incomes) are more likely to spend time at home cooking and caring for children.

Do rich people work harder? Can less time wasted on leisure activities like watching television translate to higher income?

Photo: angeloangelo
Wall Street Journal, National Bureau of Economic Research

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Consumer Financial Protection Bureau to Streamline Regulations

This article was written by in Economy, Link Sharing. 2 comments.

The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau is seeking suggestions from the public about how the government organization can streamline the variety of regulatory responsibilities they’ve inherited from other oversight groups. leave your comments with the CFPB here. The industry and much of the public are never fans of over-regulation, and the CFPB intends to reduce regulations while protecting consumers. Is that going to be a successful approach?

Here are several articles I’ve enjoyed recently or would like to share.

I’ve written on Forbes about the Federal Reserve’s approval of Capital One’s acquisition of ING Direct USA and ShareBuilder. Tomorrow’s podcast, hosted by Bryan J Busch, will cover this topic as well.

Steve Rhode, the Get Out of Debt Guy, warns readers that bankruptcy attorneys are reporting major problems on the horizon for people with student loan debt. Bankruptcy attorneys have noted a significant increase of student loan debt among potential clients, but very few student loan debtors have a chance of student loans being discharged due to hardship. It’s a tough time for graduates, with the unemployment rate still high.

As my income has changed over the past few years, I’ve tried to avoid lifestyle inflation. Sustainable Life Blog tackled this topic recently. Three or so years ago, I moved into a nicer apartment, but that’s the only major change I’ve made in my life. I’ve spent more on hobbies — particularly one hobby that may at least provide some revenue in the future — but for the most part, my life hasn’t changed.

Nelson Smith at Sustainable Personal Finance reminds readers of the importance of having a will. You can never stress this point enough, and I’m falling behind in updating my documents.

Barbara Friedberg says the four hour work week is impossible. The concept of working only four hours per week and maintaining a great lifestyle has a certain appeal for just about every American, particularly those who are tired of dragging themselves to an office to work for someone else. In her article, Barb asks several important questions about what this popular concept leaves out.

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Credit Card Debt Consolidation

This article was written by in Debt Reduction. 8 comments.

According to the Federal Reserve’s research published last week, overall American credit card debt increased at an annual rate of 7.5% during the final quarter of last year. This could mean that consumers are feeling more confident about the economy and are willing to take the risk that they will have money in the future to pay off debt. These numbers are seasonally adjusted, too, so it’s not a result of holiday spending.

For any individual or family, increased use of credit cards might cause financial turmoil if debt spirals out of control. Even people who understand the guiding principle of spending less than you earn can fall into a debt trap if they spend what they expect to earn rather than what they have in the bank to cover their debt.

Credit card debt consolidationAt some point after a period of indiscriminate spending, the monthly minimum payments on total credit card debt could exceed leftover cash flow after paying for the necessities like food and shelter. This might be a good opportunity to consolidate the credit card balances onto one card. This has the benefit of, in many cases, lowering your total monthly minimum payment. Additionally, you might find a way to significantly lower your interest rate. Of course, if you pay less towards your credit cards, it will take longer to get out of debt, but in some cases when cash flow is tight, having the extra income at the end of the month for saving or for meeting all of your ongoing expenses is more important.

In a perfect world, you would be able to transfer all your credit card balances onto one card that has the following features:

  • 0% APR for the life of your balance.
  • No balance transfer fee.
  • A low minimum monthly payment requirement.

The best credit card is going to be difficult to find, and if you do find one that meets these criteria, it may be out of your reach in terms of qualification. The goal is to find the best deal you can, either from within your current cards or by applying for a new 0% balance transfer credit card.

Start by calling the number on the back of each credit card. Explain to the customer service representative that you plan to move balances from your other cards to this card to pay off your debt, and ask for their best deal for balance transfers. You may find that the issuer offers you an unpublished deal. Be sure to ask about introductory APR, length of the introductory term, regular APR for balance transfers after the introductory period expires, balance transfer fee, and monthly minimum payment.

At the same time, while you’re talking to the customer service representative for each card, you might want to take the opportunity to ask for a lower ongoing interest rate on your card. It can’t hurt. It’s easy to ask, and you might get a cost-saving result immediately.

Don’t make the decision on the phone, however. Write down the terms the issuer offers and do the same for all other cards you own. This will help you compare the offers with the published offers from issuers offering balance transfer deals. Once you compile all information, you can make an informed decision about the best card for consolidating your credit card debt.

You may also wish to compare these offers with a loan for consolidation. Many people have had luck asking for a loan on a peer-to-peer lending network like LendingClub and Prosper, but your state may regulate what you are able to receive through these services.

Watch out for companies that offer to consolidate your credit card debt. Many charge an up-front fee and don’t provide any kind of cost savings beyond what you could easily achieve on your own. At worst, some charge an up-front fee and disappear. If you must seek outside help for your debt, go to a well-vetted non-profit organization that will provide advice, not charge you for their services. Even with this in mind, you’ll need to be careful; some companies appear to be non-profit credit counseling agencies until you look very closely.

Once you transfer your balances to a card, don’t use that card for any other spending. It should be dedicated to paying off your balances over time. Also, don’t immediately close your existing credit cards. You can cut them up, leaving one for emergency spending until you build up an emergency fund in the form of a savings account. Closing your credit card accounts might damage your credit score at a time when you might prefer to keep your number as high as possible.

When I first realized I needed to get out of debt and I had balances across several credit cards, this was one the first steps I took in order to get my finances organized, save money, and find a way to get and stay out of debt. What are your suggestions for consolidating your credit card debt?

Photo: sovietmole
Federal Reserve

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Bank Switch Kit and Checklist

by Flexo
Broken piggy bank

With Wells Fargo changing their policies to be less consumer-oriented this week, I’ve received several questions about the logistics switching banks. In previous decades, closing your account at one bank and opening an account at another was a simple process. All that was required was to walk into one branch, ask to close your account, ... Continue reading this article…

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The Lonesome, Pet-Free Life

by Flexo
Rupert

For almost as long as I’ve been living without a human roommate, I’ve enjoyed the company of my cat, Rupert. I adopted Rupert from my friend who determined his newborn daughter was allergic to cats. He had already owned Rupert for a long time, and I knew I’d be the cat’s new owner for the ... Continue reading this article…

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How Is Your Budget Doing These Days?

by Phil Cioppa

This is a guest article by Phil Cioppa of Arbol Financial Strategies, LLC. Phil has over 10 years of financial service experience and specializes in asset management strategies, insurance planning and taxation issues. A budget is an important part of any financial plan, and right now is the best time to take another look at ... Continue reading this article…

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Year-End Personal Balance Sheet, December 2011

by Flexo
Net worth balance sheet, December 2011

I’ve spent the last decade of my life focused on my finances. I started because I had no money and a job that was taking more from me than it was providing in income. I knew I had to make some changes if I wanted to build any kind of future for myself. Soon into ... Continue reading this article…

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